New Home, New Traditions
by JessieBess
Summary: For Altenprano as part of the Sybil/Tom Secret Santa Exchange. Tom and Sybil celebrate Christmas in Ireland.


A/N: This was written for Altenprano as part of the Sybil and Tom Secret Santa. Her prompt was Tom and Sybil celebrate Christmas in Ireland. Merry Christmas Altenprano and I hope this meets your wish. Also, a very special thank you, and Merry Christmas, to The Yankee Countess who organized the Secret Santa exchange.

He had known last night after seeing her with his family what he had to do. Tom stepped back to take a look at his handiwork. It looked … well … it looked … he had done the best he could with what little he had. He knew they had agreed that with their meager finances they wouldn't spend the money but it was their first Christmas together. Well the first Christmas they wouldn't have to exchange furtive glances while Tom waited in line with the other Downton servants to receive his present from the family or that she'd have to sneak out to the garage.

" _A tree trimming party!" Sybil was brimming with excitement._

" _Well don't get too excited love" Tom replied. "It's not like that extravagant affair at Downton. No ladders are needed to reach the top of the tree and most of the" he hesitated before saying 'ornaments' will be hand made."_

 _He looked over at her and grinned. "In fact you'll probably be called upon to help make some."_

 _A momentary look of apprehension crossed her face. "But I … well … I'm not really sure how-"_

" _I don't really think you need to worry about that. I'm sure Ooagh will tell you what to do."_

" _No doubt" she mumbled before laughing. The five year old daughter of Tom's oldest sister was quite a firecracker._

It had been a long day at the hospital with an endless stream of patients allowing for only the smallest of breaks. She usually loved being busy because it made the time go faster but today Sybil felt like her shift would never end. In addition to the usual assortment of aches and pains, coughs and sniffles, there had been quite a number of cuts to be cleaned and stitched, sprained ankles and wrists and bloody noses to be iced, and broken bones to be set. She had never thought that Christmas Eve was such a dangerous day. Of course that most of those patients or their family or friends who had brought them in smelled of alcohol was probably the contributing factor to all those mishaps.

Looking up at the large clock prominently displayed in the waiting room Sybil realized she still had another hour to work. It had been her choice to work the extra long shift. They needed the money and, her hand seemed to automatically rub across her still flat stomach, soon she wouldn't be able to work at all.

She had arrived at the hospital in the early morning when only faint streaks of pinks in the sky hinted of a rising sun. She shuddered as she thought that when she left the hospital she would once again be enveloped in darkness since the sun had set some time ago. Well at least I'll be able to see all the Christmas lights she thought.

Seeing the time, her thoughts quickly turned to Tom. While she had taken a short break between patients to eat a cold beef sandwich she had brought from home, Tom was at his mother's for her Christmas Eve feast. While tomorrow's Christmas dinner would be an open affair for other relatives and neighbors and friends to drop by, tonight's dinner was just for family. Tom and his family would probably still be sitting around the dining table or at least the men would be while the women cleaned up the dishes. They'd all soon leave for midnight Mass and Mrs. Branson would never leave the house with a dirty dish in the sink.

Sybil sighed as the word _traditions_ raced through her mind. Every family had traditions and she had been raised in a family that prided itself on tradition and governed every bit of their way of life and she had rebelled against that. But traditions at Christmas … well that a whole different matter.

As this was her first Christmas with the Bransons she was just learning about their traditions. Last night had been the night for putting up the family Christmas tree in Mrs. Branson's parlor. She was surprised how much fun she had had helping her sisters-in-law and Tom's nieces and nephews in making strings of beads and colored paper or cutting out figures of angels or snowflakes from newspaper to decorate the tree with. She loved that the tree decorating wasn't an orchestrated affair instead the only main rule being that Mrs. Branson's few precious glass ornaments would be hung high up on the tree to lessen the chance of their breaking from overzealous young hands. The only other rule seemed to be that the large angel, made from corn husks, was the tree topper but chaos had ensued in determining who got the plum job of hanging it.

"Nurse"

The sound of being called brought Sybil out of her reverie of last night's party and back to the reality of the waiting room. But the cheer from last night's event made her smile warmly at her next patient who needed some bandages changed.

She was just making notes on her last patient's chart when she became aware that someone was standing by her chair.

"I'll be with-" she began while still looking at the chart in her lap.

"So I'll just bleed here" Tom's voice caught her by surprise and she looked up in a panic thinking something had happened to him.

But that momentary panic died when she saw him standing there with that cheeky grin on his face.

"Shouldn't you be in church or on your way to church?"

"I thought I'd come walk you home instead."

"And your mother is okay with this plan?"

Tom chuckled. "She did say something about the errors of my way. But when I pointed out that it was rather late for you to be making your way home alone she quickly saw my point."

 _Tom was pleased that everyone made a heartfelt point of saying they were sorry Sybil couldn't join them for dinner for it was a sign of how much Sybil had become a part of his family. It had taken Sybil's cheerful and caring nature to overcome their initial skepticism._

" _Maybe the two of you could meet us at the church" Mrs. Branson queried after hearing of Tom's plan to meet Sybil at the hospital instead of going to midnight mass with them._

 _Although her shift didn't end for a couple more hours, Tom had made his excuses early because he needed to make a stop on the way home and then he'd work on Sybil's surprise before going to the hospital. But he couldn't tell his mother this._

" _She'll probably be very tired after working such a long shift Ma."_

" _She's working too hard" his mother replied._

 _Tom lifted his eyebrows in disbelief of his mother's words before chuckling. "That's something I never expected to hear from you."_

 _Mrs. Branson's cheeks redden in embarrassment as she remembered her initial thoughts on the English aristocrat Tom had brought with him on his return to Ireland. She reached out and gently brushed her hand up and down the side of Tom's face._

" _I was wrong to judge her" she spoke softly. "I was afraid for you. You're my son that's always worn his heart on his sleeve and I feared-" she paused. Looking into Tom's eyes she finally continued "She's perfect for you Tom."_

 _Tom felt his eyes tearing up. Although he had told Sybil it didn't matter what his family thought he knew in his heart that it really did matter. He wanted them to accept her and love her._

 _Tom drew his mother in close for a hug. Whispering in her ear, he softly said "I'll consider that my Christmas present."_

It took them a bit longer to get home. Sybil wanted to get off the bus at an earlier stop and walk along the streets admiring all the Christmas lights. So many of the shops had lights and some had beautiful window displays. Even the street lamps had been decorated with holly and other greenery.

"It's so beautiful!" Sybil had exclaimed. "I've always loved Christmas lights and decorations."

Tom laughed. "I know. I remember all those decorating parties at Downton."

He stopped walking so he could look directly at her face. "You were always the most exuberant one. Although you were a bit bossy."

"Bossy?" Sybil tilted her head in what he considered her Lady Sybil look with her chin tilted upward.

Tom chuckled. "Watching Oonagh last night reminded me a little of you."

"Well Oonagh and I know that things have to be just right. You can't just throw the ornaments on the tree any old way."

"Really?" Tom replied. "I didn't know there was an instruction manual for decorating a Christmas tree."

Sybil grinned that beaming smile of hers that always made his heart flutter. "I just remember there were some ornaments that I loved and I wanted to see them. When you're only five or six you can't see all the way to the top of the tree."

"At least not a tree like at Downton" Tom cut in.

Sybil rolled her eyes and slightly shook her shoulders. "As I grew taller my favorite ornaments would get a bit higher on the tree."

As the neared the area where their flat was located, the amount of Christmas lights lessened although most every door had a wreath or some type of greenery adorning it.

When they reached the second floor landing just outside the door to their flat, Tom asked Sybil to wait in the hall for a moment.

"I have a surprise for you" He gave her that cheeky grin again.

Sybil nodded although she was bewildered as to what surprise could possibly be waiting for her inside their flat.

Placing his arms on her shoulders, he kissed her on the forehead before saying "now turn around. It will just take me a minute."

Sybil stood there in the hallway with her back to the door for what seemed more like two or three minutes before she heard the door open and Tom quietly said "Sybil."

With Tom holding the door wide open, his arms gesturing for her to enter, she brushed past him and stepped into their parlor.

"Tom" she shrieked in delight as she took in the sight of a lighted Christmas tree in the far corner. She took four or five steps into the room before turning around to face him her face beaming with joy.

Before she could say anything he blurted out "I know we agreed that we wouldn't get a tree, that we'd save our money but" he paused as his eyes looked from her to the tree and then back to her "after seeing you last night … after seeing how excited you were … I"

"Oh Tom" Sybil rushed to him, her arms enveloping him. "It's a wonderful surprise."

He thought her joy would turn into something else as she kissed him but one thing he had learned with her was to expect the unexpected.

Breaking away from him, she grabbed his hand leading him to the sofa as she spoke "let's sit here and just enjoy the tree."

"You know what would make this even better?" she asked.

"You mean some ornaments" he chuckled as he looked at the tree.

"I was talking about a cup of tea or hot chocolate." Sybil furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes as she stared at the tree before giggling. "I didn't even realize there's no ornaments."

Nodding her head in that defiant way she had she declared "I think it's beautiful just the way it is."

Tom smiled. "Sit down and rest while I make the tea … or is it hot chocolate?"

"Surprise me" she grinned.

A few minutes later he returned to the parlor and set two mugs of steaming hot chocolate on the small table in front of the sofa before turning back to the kitchen. This time he returned carrying two plates filled with slices of black walnut cake. The cake was part of an array of goodies sent from Downton.

"Tom!" Sybil groaned when she say the cake. "I was taking that cake to your Mother's tomorrow."

Tom looked down at the plate in his hands before looking back to his wife. "Seriously Sybil you think my family is going to notice two pieces are missing?"

Sybil rolled her eyes. "Well I guess I could take it already cut into slices."

"I thought you were taking the cake you made and Mrs. Patmore's fruitcake."

"I am Tom but your mother said there's going to be a lot of people coming and going so I thought I'd take this one too."

"But this one is one of my favorite cakes" Tom said as he looked at his plate. "I'm sure that's why Mrs. Patmore included it in the box.

Sybil shook her head as she laughed. "Okay" she relented "consider it my Christmas gift to you."

With a smile on his face, Tom plopped down on the sofa next to Sybil and proceeded to take a large bit of his cake. "And a fine gift it is."

Silence enveloped the room as both Tom and Sybil ate their cake and sipped the hot chocolate.

"So how many people will be there tomorrow?" Sybil finally asked.

Tom shrugged his shoulders. "A lot with people coming and going. That's why we have it buffet style. Most everyone brings something so you have to pace yourself because you don't want to fill up and then someone comes in with something better."

"Is it enough that we're bringing that ham?"

"That ham will feel 40 at least!"

With her feet propped up on the sofa table, her head resting on Tom's shoulder, and her eyes focused on the Christmas tree, Sybil sighed in contentment. Softly she said "thank you Tom. Thank you for all of this … surprising me with the tree … but most of all for giving me a new life."

Tom squeezed her hand. "Hopefully you'll still think that after tomorrow … after washing countless plates, after meeting so many people you can't remember them all and listening to an endless array of stories, many of which won't be true I'm telling you now just so you know."

"Well I think that sounds lovely."

Just then they could hear the faint sound of church bells ringing.

"It's Christmas Day!" Sybil blurted out as she yawned.

"Aye Love. Merry Christmas Sybil."

"Merry Christmas Tom."

And a very Merry Christmas, or as we say here in Honolulu, Mele Kalikimaka, to all reading this. Mahalo (thank you) to all who have read my stories and taken the time to review or follow or mark them as a favorite. For a shameless plug – I've also written a Christmas themed new chapter for Through the Years which I posted on Friday.


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